jueves, 8 de noviembre de 2012

Week 10: Blogs and Google Sites

Lisa's Slidecast: That was a really good slidecast, thanks a lot Lisa, I enjoyed it a lot! I hope to be able to avoid the mistakes you point on it about blogging and I think constextualization is really important to get the motivation and the commitment with the learning process and this is sometimes forgotten and try to take always in account that to work with bolgs could be made in different ways and it is very important to have a clear how we are going to use the blog in the classroom, what will be the tasks required to do by the students, how they have to work (alone, with a group) or others aspects about the objectives we are seeking with this activity of blogging.

Jim Sullivan's Session: In this session I like the point to think about to allow comments or not and the need to have a feedback and take care about the comments you receive and you create.This point makes me think about if the ownership of the blog can engage more to the students to share and to be more motivated in making and receiving comments from their fellows. I am not sure about it, but It is possible. I also think it is a very important point to not forget: to make the blog more and more interactive and attractive adding media.

Engrade: I did not know this tool that really surprised me too. You have all the tools to manage a class in one site and it also has really good tools to evaluate all.

GoogleSites: This is one googlesite I did several years ago. This place where used like a repository of resources to work in the classroom with my children. During the class we came to this googlesite to work in a certain workshops about values education. I also added there tutorials about basic informatic programs we were working in the class: Aprendiendo y Navegando

Blogs in the classroom: The blog in the classroom could be like the typical workbook for the students, could be a forum, could be a portfolio, could be a tool of the professor to connect all the student together in a teaching place, could be used then in a lot of ways and we have to think the best way to use it in our classrooms (individual, groupal blog?) but I think one of the main point that let a blog build is a connection and a opening to the outside of the school if we want. But how it is good or not for our students and for the education in general? security issues? oportunity of change together the way the society see the school and the education?

Can a blog help to build this kind of classroom you can see represented in this picture?

I am sure it could be a really good tool to try to do it
What do you think? A blog have more advantages than disadvantages?
I think we have to contextualize the use of the blog into our metodology and group of class, this is one of the most important keys to build a good blog and a good blogging activity.

1 comentario:

Hi Anjana, Advantages for blogging: you learn about yourself when speaking openly to a, often, unknown audience--how confident a person is need not be the driving force as this can be a frightening risk in developing your "voice" or giving yourself permission to speak the things that you are passionate about. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is very important. Blogging can invite conversation and reduce a sense of isolation--it can be very hard when your blog goes unnoticed but this is a necessary feeling to learn from and to recognize feelings of isolation in others. I find blogging makes me think of things (and look at things) in a way that I would if I had to explain them to someone else. Like having an interesting friend.

And then there is the pressure of putting off blogging that sends me out looking for ides from wiser bloggers:-)